BROADCASTING group ITV was today offered deep cuts in its licence fee to help it cope with the challenge of the digital age. Industry regulator Ofcom is proposing to slash the cost of ITV's dozen licences, including GMTV, to less than £80m this year - down from the £215m it paid in 2004.

MORE than 60% of British homes now have digital television, latest figures have revealed. In the first three months of this year, the number of UK households with digital TV grew by 643,517 to hit 15.4m.

BROADCASTER ITV bucked the downbeat trend in the rest of its sector today by predicting that advertising revenues would rise by 3% in the first six months of 2005. It also outlined plans for its new ITV4 channel.